Is Gas Water Heater still Practical to Use?

It’s good to know your heating options ahead of time. That way, you know the installation costs, the long and short-term benefits associated with each solution, and you gain an insight into the mechanisms that will heat your particular home or commercial setup. Take gas water heating, for instance, a system that delivers instant piping hot water. Is gas water heating still practical? Well, the answer isn’t as straightforward as you’d assume.

Base Costs

Gas water heating is typically cheaper than electrical heating. Imagine the electricity grid, a system that uses step-down transformers and thousands of kilometres of cables, as supported by massive steel pylons. In contrast, gas is transported to remote pressurized vessels, and it’s also piped straight to various regions in Australia. In other words, multiple transformative processes come into play when electric heating is adopted, but gas is a fuel that’s readily available in vessels and pipes. Gas is the affordable water heating option.

Installation Practicalities

Gas water systems tend to be a little more expensive to install. However, that expense is offset by the realization that this affordability factor counterbalances those installation costs. Additionally, power outages aren’t exactly popular in colder regions. With an electrical system, the only option is a warm blanket and a quick prayer. As for gas water heating practicality, these fossil fuel based water heaters can operate during a power outage. Like other initially expensive heating systems, gas is a long-term winner, one that will eventually cut energy costs.

Future-Proof Water Heating

New electrical heating systems are adopting innovative solutions, including reverse cycle air conditioning. Not to be left behind, gas water systems come in tanked or tankless models. The result is an eco-friendly on-demand feature, a mode of operation that ensures instant hot water as soon as a tap is turned. Otherwise, the equipment enters a special energy-savings configuration, because there’s no tank in the equipment, no energy-guzzling water containment unit that requires metres of potentially inefficient material insulation.

On the input side, gas is a fossil fuel. It is, however, a clean-burning energy source, and it’s also a safe heating solution as long as there are special safety features installed. True, there are also electric tankless heaters on the market, and they’re incredibly efficient machines, but gas is typically the more affordable energy source. At the end of the day, then, regional fuel costs and installation charges matter. Yes, an advanced venting system is required when gas is chosen. Still, gas water heating is practical, but only after these system selection factors have been weighed, preferably by an expert heating engineer.